Masquerade
by Winter Sleep
Summary: Put yourself in my shoes. Your sister's sick on Valentine's Day and wasted the whole of yesterday baking a cake for her crush. What do you do? Me? I did the right thing: I dressed up as her and gave it to him myself. But things never go according to plan.
1. Reaching the Crossroads

**Title****: Masquerade**

**Chapter 1****: Reaching The Crossroads**

"_Meruto, tokete shimai sou_…"

With a skip in her step and a large bowl of chocolate pressed to her chest, Rin hopped about the room, wielding a wooden spoon in her would-be free hand. The previously spotless kitchen now resembled the terrifying aftermath of three consecutive flour-egg-and-cocoa-powder tornados. But of course, the little girl was oblivious to the Hell she had just opened up for her mom. Except for the song, the only thought swimming in her love-induced mind was the calendar on the wall, with twelve days crossed out and the fourteenth day circled in bright pink highlighter. She continued to hum a few more verses before she broke out into song again. The frilly pink apron, she had bought earlier that day, was now coated in a thick layer of brown, ready to spew out a rain of chocolate powder if anyone patted it. It wouldn't make much of a difference, though, seeing as the tiled floors were already sticky and shiny with batter ingredients. It was quite horrifying, to say the least. It's always amazing how much love is able to blot out a person's consciousness. To be more accurate, how completely oblivious Rin was to her surroundings on Valentine's Eve.

"Valentine's Day, Valentine's, Valentine's," she whispered to herself, dropping her singing and instead going on and on with her little mantra. "Kaito. Valentine. Kaito. Valentine. Valentine." The addition of the name seemed to energise her further; Rin now kicked out her legs in awkward ballet-like movements, the bowl in her hands dribbling the contents from the unseen front, dolloping chocolate paste onto the floor.

From the front door, there was a click and the sound of the latch being slid into place as her brother returned from kendo classes. "I'm home," was the voice that came down the hallway and a head of spiked blonde hair popped around the kitchen entrance. Blue eyes widened at his sister's 'masterpiece' of the kitchen. At least it's not as bad as last year, he decided, sighing exasperatedly before making his way up the stairs.

The thirteenth and she's already going cuckoo, he thought, throwing himself onto the bed. Downstairs, what sounded like every single pot and pan in the cupboard toppling over echoed into his bedroom. The boy tugged on his headphones and jacked up the volume. 'She'll probably be the most scariest tomorrow. Hyperness at maximum intensity. Here we go…'

* * *

"Rin… You have a fever."

The flushed face that looked up at him was filled to the brim with disdain and somewhere in the boy, she plucked at a heartstring. There was a sniff and Len wasn't sure whether it was from an oncoming flu or because she had been crying. He glanced into her eyes. Bloodshot… Well, when someone has a fever, they get bloodshot too… Why must fever symptoms and crying be so similar? He withdrew his hand from her forehead and slid his schoolbag to the floor, rushing off to the bathroom to run some cool water over the 'fever cloth'. The whole time he was wringing the water out, he expected some sort of whine or complaint from his sister of her predicament. He was more than surprised when none came. Wow, she must be really upset. Growing a little worried, he walked into the room, folding the cloth between his fingers. There she was with her blank gaze still fixated on the same piece of ceiling. Len chewed on his lower lip uncertainly as he placed the cloth over her hot forehead. Her blue eyes spoke only of her disappointment but she didn't say a word. Defeat also lingered in those puppy eyes and Len forced his gaze away, clamping down on his lower lip to keep the sympathy from eating him up. Say something! his mind urged. Say something to make her feel better!

"Rin… Erm…"

"Go to school," she murmured softly, batting his hand away from her and closing her eyes.

"But, Rin—"

"Go to school, Len. I'm fine. Eat my cake too. At least it'll be good for something."

He sighed at his twin. Usually when she's in one of her moods, she's as temperamental as Meiko-senpai. Best not to get on her bad side, he decided. Scooping up his bag from the floor, he gave her nose a small poke and grinned when a smile managed to form on her feverish face. Satisfied that he had at least made her smile, he took a few backward-steps to the door. "I'll come straight home," he reassured her, knowing quite well there was no need and walked out of her room.

"Have fun."

Len bit his lower lip again as he heard the sorrowful whimper. He closed the door without looking back, in hopes that it would numb the uncomfortable churning feeling in his gut just by a little.

It didn't.

* * *

The after-school bell rang and the blonde slammed his forehead into his still-opened Chemistry textbook. The blurred outline of the molecular structure of diamond seemed to glare at him and the same icky feeling swirled in his gut. It had swelled up inside him when he closed Rin's door and never left him since. Back at home, Rin was still having a fever and unable to give Kaito-senpai her Valentine's chocolate cake she had specially baked for him. Len shuffled his feet against the concrete floor and gritted his teeth, going through his options once more. He didn't really need to think it over more than once; being the good brother he was, he already decided he would do it the moment he packed the cake and Rin's clothes into his bag that morning.

Oh good lord…

* * *

Bow in his hand, Kaito spaced his feet and stole a glance at the circular target positioned in front of him. Diverting his eyes back to the _kyuudou_ equipment in his hands, he pinched the end of an arrow. Glancing back at the target even though he wasn't really supposed to just yet, his gaze was interrupted as he notices a very conspicuous head of blonde hair a distance away, moving along the little walkway that led students from the school to the archery area. He raised an eyebrow as the small frame seemed to stop from time to time to adjust her skirt. Maybe it's just been tailored, he thought and was about to continue with his practice but the blonde haired girl raised up an arm and waved it about. Oh, did she come to see me? he wondered, stepping out of his stance and lowering his bow. Judging by the way she started signaling to him hysterically, he assumed so. There was the sound of the air being sliced and the elastic vibrating as Yowane-senpai fired her first arrow. Soon, similar sounds echoed around him as everyone began practice.

Kaito glanced about and thankfully, no one but Kamui-senpai had noticed him out of stance. His purple-haired senior offered him a smile and nudged his head to the blonde-haired girl before proceeding to aim the arrow in his hand. Thankful, Kaito bowed his head before jogging out of the practice area. The cool sunset wind greeted him and aired his _hakama_, the male glancing around, wondering where she went. Her face peered out from behind the smaller building where they kept their equipment and it immediately disappeared once they made eye-contact. Chuckling softly, he strode across the grassy grounds and behind the concrete wall. He couldn't help but smile as the girl attempted to juggle the cakebox on her knee as she tied her ribbon on her head. It was quite dark, so he couldn't make out her face but the bow she tied immediately identified her as one of his juniors. Kagamine –

* * *

Rin. You are Kagamine Rin. Not Len. Rin. Kagamine Rin. Rin. Rin. Ru Ri Rin.

"Kagamine Rin," Kaito called.

"Exactly," Len nodded. He froze as he was retrieving the box from his extended leg and glanced over his shoulder. Even in the dim evening light, he knew it was Shion Kaito-senpai that stood behind him. He didn't expect him to immediately come over! He panicked. He hadn't had time to compose himself yet! His breath hitched in his throat as he snapped his face back, quite afraid to look him in the eye now. For some reason, his heart started to beat a lot faster and it was getting quite annoying, to say the least. The pounding in his ears got so loud, it took him awhile to notice that he had started breathing heavily.

"Good evening, Kagamine Rin." He seemed to laugh as he said it.

"Very good evening, Shion-senpai!" Len couldn't believe that he didn't need to mask his voice that much to make it sound like his sister. The nervousness was all he needed to replicate it. "I'm so sorry for dragging you out of your practice." He still kept his back to him and shakily clutched the box to his chest. He was holding it so awkwardly tight that there were finger indents in the cardboard now.

"No, it's fine, they're just warming up," his senior reassured and there was a laugh. Len's heart seemed to be thumping at his throat now; most likely from the fact that the man was actually convinced he was his sister. He didn't know it was this hard for him to lie.

"Oh, don't you need warm-ups, senpai?" Darn it! His voice quivered.

"No, I got here earlier so I already did my warm-ups."

"You probably know why I called you out, right?" he asked uncertainly.

"I have a good idea why."

"I should probably get it over with, right?"

"Take your time."

He's so nice! No wonder Rin's in love with him. Wait, he's probably saying it to make me feel better, though. Len gritted his teeth. Okay, now, Le- I mean, Rin! Now, Rin, turn around, give him the box, wish him and _run_. Ready? Okay! Go! Now! With a deep breath, Len turned about, the skirt fluttering and his flattened hair half-concealing his face. Shaking a lock of it away, he looked up with wide doe-like eyes and was surprised to find his senior, Kaito, smiling patiently for this insane girl to give him his Valentine's chocolate. It was so amazing how calm he was! For a moment, Len blanked out.

"Ah… Um… Er… Eto…" Lost for words, he held out the box, his hand still shaking. Seeing the kind smile, he gritted his teeth again and diverted his gaze to the grass around his shoes. "Happy- Valentine's… Day," he stuttered. He felt the box being taken away from him and immediately, his hand clenched to a fist as he held it at his side. Now to run. Run! RUN! But his legs wouldn't move.

"Thank you, Kagamine-san, I really appreciate you going through so much trouble," he thanked him formally, yet it wasn't the cold-formal that usually comes from Kamui-senpai. It sounded… almost… sincere. This made Len glance up at him through the curtain of blonde hair.

And then, it happened. Later in life, when he would look back at this moment, he would never exactly know what he felt, truly. After thinking that over, he would then, track back to the beginning of the day and think 'what if I didn't pack Rin's clothes with me' or something like that. It was one of those crossroad-things and Len never knew whether he really regretted or secretly intended for what happened next on that windy day on the fourteenth of February.

Kaito-senpai kissed him. Gently, tenderly and with his finger and thumb holding his chin. Len had initially thought that his senior would just carefully reject his 'sister' like all the other girls that confessed to him that day and everything would be done and over with, but he never expected this. It made him a little guilty that he assumed that his sister would get turned down but… wow… If he were to look back at this moment, he assumed these were the things he would be thinking about when Kaito-senpai kissed him. But, instead, his mind was just _blank_.

For some time, he stood there, hands still clenched at his sides and with the wind fluttering his sister's skirt, not sure of what to do. His heart was beating as fast as the speed of light, if there ever was a bigger exaggeration, and he forgot how to breathe. He took this moment to try and count the number of eyelashes Kaito-senpai had on his left eye and also study the fact that one of his earlobes was pierced. It wasn't until another moment later when those shocking deep blue eyes fluttered open, making Len shut his eyes tight. Oh yeah, you were supposed to do that during your first kiss. He expected Kaito-senpai to pull back but the kiss stretched on longer and when he opened one of his eyes, he noticed that his senior had closed his once more. His shaking fist was taken into the other male's hand and held delicately and he almost jumped out of his skin at this. This was so, so… he didn't even have the words to describe it. Wrong? Right? Amazing? Disgusting? A big misunderstanding? The result of a twin brother parading about with his sister's clothes?

Forgive me for quoting many a romance novel but, 'it ended as quickly as it came' and Len was left with his mouth gaping open as those lips pulled away from the kiss.

"I love you Kagamine-san," he whispered.

Now, the very first thought that entered his mind since the kiss was initiated made a grand entrance: Good lord…

**(A/N: Thank you all, very much for reading the first chapter of this fanfic. Please, if you would be so kind as to review, it would be very much appreciated. I like hearing the reactions of my readers, it makes me happy inside. =D**

**Glossary**

_Meruto, tokete shimai sou_… - The chorus of the love song 'Melt', written by ryo. This particular verse means "Melt, I might melt".

_-senpai_ – The suffix usually placed after the name of a senior. The opposite is _kouhai,_ which is used for juniors but the normally seniors just call you (name)-_san_.

-_san _ – Another suffix. More formal version of '-_chan_' as it would be awkward for a random senior to call you affectionately by '-_chan_' all of a sudden, don't you think?

_kyuudou_ – Japanese archery. It's considered a type of martial art and requires a lot of discipline to master

_hakama_ – Male version of the _yukata_; basically, a casual type of traditional Japanese clothing. Male and female wear them in _kyuudou_ as it is considered uniform for the martial art, but most of the time, males wear them. It's really long and loose but very comfortable.

**Once again, it would be very much appreciated for you to review. =D Thank you. -heart-)**


	2. Five Thousand Miles

**Title****: Masquerade**

**Chapter 2****: Five Thousand Miles**

Lured by the scent of toast and eggs, Len inched his way down the stairs, hands tightly grasping at the railing as he blindly followed his nose. His eyes were foggy and heavy with sleep and his pyjama-shirt was hanging off one shoulder. Mere minutes ago, he had finally managed to coax himself to sleep after a nightful of tossing and turning, only to be snapped awake by that _infernal_ alarm clock. The aforementioned clock now resided in its final resting place: the wastepaper basket. It had somehow "dropped" onto the wall and "broken" by "accident". Len shuffled into the warmth of the kitchen, his slippers brushing against the linoleum, and he clambered onto his usual stool at the island counter.

"Good morning, sweetheart."

"Morning, mum…" Len slurred, eyelids cemented shut. He was unwilling to accept that the sun had _dared_ to rise and begin the new day again. Why didn't the sun take a break for once? How many dawns has it broken since its last holiday? It's been working for the past few million years, it needs a day off. God knows why it hasn't gone on strike due to low wages yet... He allowed the nonsensical train of thought to roam about his mind until his mother set a plate of eggs and toast in front of him. Snatching the toast, he gobbled it down without a glance to the jam and butter. His was starving from not eating any of his dinner, the unexpected kiss the day before having stolen his appetite.

"Morning, Len!" echoed a green-haired girl. She sat opposite him, swinging her legs and munching on a piece of toast. Deep red strawberry jam dripped from the bread onto her plate as she ate.

"Morning, Miku…" Len murmured a reply, nodding his head in acknowledgement before he proceeded with his 'search for the fork'. His hand roamed about the counter blindly as if it had detached itself from his body, and a tired smile cracked on the blonde's face when he located the cold eating utensil. He was about to eagerly dig into his eggs when...

_Wait a minute._

"Miku! **What** are you doing in my house?" the chair screeched as he stood up, pointing the fork accusingly towards his classmate. She took her time chewing the last bit of her toast and washed it down with a few gulps of milk before she slammed the glass down on the pink coaster.

"For breakfast, of course!" she declared proudly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She shovelled a spoonful of scrambled eggs into her mouth, a few nuggets of yellow egg tumbling back onto her plate. What? What kind of friend stops over at your house just to eat your food?

"What about your house? What happened to it? Do your parents know you're here?" Len had surprisingly recharged himself from an unseen force and was frantically firing question after question at Miku. His disbelief of the girl's casual-ness was written all over his face and though his stomach grumbled complainingly, he ignored it. _What_ exactly was going on?

"I ran away from home," she announced happily.

Len froze. _WHAT?_ Frantic and desperate to wake up from this nightmare, he snapped his head towards his smiling mother. "Mum?" he whimpered softly, as if begging her to tell him that this was all a sick early-morning joke and that Miku hadn't really ran away from home to _live with them_... But all he got was:

"Miku's telling the truth, Len. She ran away from home and she'll be sleeping over for awhile. Hurry up and eat your breakfast, Len, you'll be late."

Not only was this not a sick joke, it wasn't even early-morning. With a chaste glance at the clock on the wall, he began to shovel mouthful after mouthful down his throat. Late. Late. Late. _Late. _**LATE!**

Why must everything go so _wrong_?

* * *

"Len-san, _Len-san_, wake up!"

Stifling a small yawn, he hesitantly pried his eyes open and dragged his head from his folded arms. A piece of notepaper clutched to the side of his face and Len hastily tugged it off and slammed it onto his desk. Gosh, was it time for lunch yet? he wondered, threading his fingers through his hair. He couldn't recall how many lessons he slept through, all he could remember was that he had sat down on his seat that morning and instantly blacked out. Wow, he didn't realize what a heavy sleeper he was… Also, somewhat amazed that none of the teachers had woke him up so far, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Curiously, he gave his 'wake up call' a blurry-eyed glance. It was Miki-san, the new transfer student, and, according to Miku, "her rival". He could imagine the green-haired girl cornering him after school to probe him on the what-how-why's of Miki and why she had talked to him. She seems to harbour some sort of unhealthy obsession and paranoia of Miki stealing the spotlight from her. Len couldn't care less now of Miku's agenda. He was more interested in why he had been woken up. Was he in trouble? Had a teacher told her to call him to the staff room? Was _she_ going to confess her love to him too? No, wait, she already did that to Shion-_senpai_ yesterday...

"Sorry, Miki-san… I was just-" Len began his excuse, assuming it was reason number one.

She held up a hand and smiled. "It's fine. It's just that there's a _senpai_ waiting for you outside. He told me that he wanted to talk to you." She said all this in a slightly hushed voice. Though Len was relieved that he wasn't in trouble, his gut did a free-fall right after. _A senpai wanted to talk to him? Was it Shion-senpai? Did he find out? What should he do?_

Len felt a shockwave rush up his spine and he his eyes snapped to the classroom door. The half-opened sliding door didn't show much from where he was sitting, much to his dismay. Suddenly, a figure moved and Len's heartbeat hastened as he noticed two things about the _senpai_: he was tall and he was a 'he'. "Uh… What's it about?" he asked instinctively though he was sure Miki-san herself had no idea.

"Sorry, Len-san. He just told me to get 'Kagamine-san' and that was it," the red-head paused as if realising something. "Since Rin wasn't here, I assumed he was talking about you. Was I wrong?"

_No, not exactly, if he wanted to see me about what happened yesterday…_ Len mused but kept his thoughts to himself. He shrugged at Miki. "I'm not sure myself… Thanks anyway," he replied and without a second glance, he walked towards the half-opened door. He dragged his feet as if they had been coated in lead and his gut felt as if it had an anchor attached to it and he was dragging it along behind him. He imagined the concrete floor being sliced open by the weight of the anchor and called himself silly to imagine such odd things at a time of crisis. Or what he thought was crisis... Well, it _was_ a time of crisis! This time, he noticed how loud his breathing was and he wish he hadn't as it echoed into his ears and drowned out the lunch-time chatter of his classmates.

Stepping out the door felt like stepping into a different world and Len had to press his hand against the wall to stabilise himself. The one-minute journey from his table to the door had seemed like hours and his head felt insanely light on his shoulders, as if someone had pumped helium into it and he was floating to the ceiling. If all those sensations weren't enough, he was hit with a wave of shock when he realised that the _senpai _that had called him out wasn't Kaito-_senpai_...

It was **ten times** worse...

"Ka-Kamui-_senpai_," Len stuttered, feeling as if someone had ripped his backbone from his body. Sure enough, there was the purple-haired senior, in all his splendour, standing right in front of him. He had heard rumours of him once beating up a whole group of _yakuza_-type delinquents single-handedly and of him being the heir and only son of the most notorious gang leader in _Shinjuton_. His demeanour was cool and frightening at the same time and his blue eyes surprisingly looked upon him with some sort of... Len wasn't sure what it was, but it had a positive aura to it. But after a second, it was replaced with a cold stare and the blonde took a small step back. Wild thoughts of whether he would live to be seventeen flowed into his head as he stood there, anxiously waiting for Kamui-_senpai_ to break the silence.

"You're not Kagamine Rin," was the first thing he said and Len's gut gave a jolt as if someone had twisted it into some sort of grotesque balloon dog. He dropped his gaze to the floor and shoved his fingers into his pockets, his right hand tightening around his cellphone, needing something to hold onto. To call him frightened would be an understatement.

"No... I'm her brother... Kagamine... Len..." he whispered softly and hesitantly, wondering if Kamui-_senpai_ could see his shoulders shaking. He half-hoped he did and half-hoped he didn't.

"I see." Though it wasn't really much of a reply, Len felt as if he had been crucified with icicles. He now was well aware of why those rumours of the _senpai_ had sprouted so easily. Even though there was no proof of his violent past, no one could be blamed for believing them once they had heard him speak. His words were cold and razor-sharp, like a _katana_ and his eyes matched his tongue. Len was surprised he didn't radiate some sort of _anime_-like blue fiery glow.

"So, you're her brother..." those words rang in the blonde's ears. He said it so casually, yet they still metaphorically pierced through him. He curiously mused how many metaphorical bandages it would take to dress the metaphorical wounds caused by the metaphorical ice-daggers being thrown at him. Maybe it was the kiss from the day before that had heightened his reactions, but nonetheless, the senior made him insanely uncomfortable.

"Is my sister... in trouble?" Len dared to ask. He said it in the most polite way he could muster, clamping his jaw shut once the question left him.

"No." At this moment, Len had gathered enough bravery to look up at him. The calm, collected face of his senior filled his view and the blonde noticed with relief that he was a safe distance away, meaning that he would have time to run and scream if he was suddenly attacked in the middle of the hallway. But upon making eye-contact, Kamui-_senpai_ shattered his personal bubble by leaning over and he studied Len's face with much interest. Len shuddered; it felt like he was being probed and violated by those icy blue eyes and he didn't like it one bit. From the moment he had stepped outside into this ice-cold nightmare, he had wanted to retreat to his desk and sleep.

"You look a lot like her," Kamui-_senpai_ muttered and Len wasn't sure whether he was referring to his sister in general or his 'sister' that he saw yesterday. Len's breath hitched in his throat as the senior raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"We're twins... Fraternal twins, but twins... We look a lot like... Everyone says so..." Len stuttered out sentence after sentence, testing how one felt on his tongue before proceeding to the next one. None of them seemed right but Kamui-_senpai_ withdrew himself from the close proximity, seemingly satisfied by the answer. But Len wasn't really sure what his _senpai_ was thinking, and he was sure he never wanted to. He felt he was stepping deeper and deeper into dangerous territory with every word he said to this demon-incarnate. Well, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration...

"Okay," the purple-haired man said after awhile, and with a nod, walked off in another direction, leaving the blonde standing at the doorway. Len had bowed instinctively, and though he knew that his senior hadn't seen it, he remained in that position, frightened and somewhat stung by the menacing personality. He didn't really have a word to explain the feeling Kamui Gakupo-_senpai_ gave him. It felt like when you pressed the tip of your tongue to something cold and, when it got stuck, you pulled back. Your tongue bled and stung from the cold at the same time and you had to grit your teeth from screaming out in pain. That was what Len felt like, only that the pain on his tongue was all over his skin.

He didn't like it at all.

* * *

Everyone around him chattered as they crowded around the entrance of the school, opening their small lockers and pulling on their shoes. The sounds of metal doors opening and closing and the collected body warmth from many students surrounded him. Len placed his bag on the tiled floors before slipping off his indoor shoes. Nonchalantly, he opened his locker and his pair of white sneakers greeted him after a hard day of school. He cast a glance at Miku, who was apparently walking home with him and sleeping in his house tonight. She seemed preoccupied, laughing and gossiping away with Neru-_san_ and Teito-_senpai_. Shaking his head in exasperation at all the problems that had popped up that day, he tossed his indoor shoes into the locker and pushed his feet into his converses. Unbelievable... Len sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, stress mounting onto his shoulders like a festering tumour. No wait, two festering tumours... He crawled back to reality to slam his locker shut and a piece of paper slipped out of the locker beside him. Rin's locker! Len thought with mounting curiosity and he found himself picking up the paper. Hastily scrawled in messy handwriting on a piece of ripped notepaper was:

'_Saturday. 4:30pm. Vita Shopping District? – Kaito._'

His heart gave a great lurch forward and suddenly, the tumours faded off his shoulders. Hastily shoving the note into his pocket, Len grabbed his bag and sprinted out the entrance. The rain-tinged spring wind whipped at his hair and his body felt weightless, his feet treading on the air above the ground. The blonde clutched his bag tighter and ran past the student parking lot, past his friends loitering at a large flowerless _sakura_ tree and past the grounds where the _kyuudou_ club were shooting arrows. He didn't know whether he was running _away_ or running_ towards _something. He couldn't really differentiate between the two at the moment. He only stopped running when the echo-y sounds of feet against metal filled his ears. Seeing the sheet of browning matter beneath his feet, he realised that he was on the metal bridge that was twenty minutes from his house and forty minutes from school. Len was suddenly aware of the layer of sweat beneath his shirt, the ache in his legs and his lungs desperately pumping for air. He grabbed the thin railing of the bridge and looked down at the clear water. The shadows of the bloomless _sakura_ trees played upon the surface. The thick musky scent of grass filled his lungs and the trickling of water made him lick his dry lips. A leaf slipped from a branch and silently fluttered past the bridge. It made contact with the shining and glittering water and, letting itself be carried away, slipped down the stream. Len's eyes followed it until it disappeared from view, but he didn't move, eyes fixated upon the point where the river was no longer visible. A single thought entered his head.

_I have to cancel Saturday's baseball game_.

His hand slipped from the grainy railing and into his pocket to feel the weightlessness of the notepaper. Like before, it seemed to shock him with electricity and he began to run. This time, he knew clearly well that he wasn't running away nor running towards. It was the type of light-hearted running when you forget all about the pain in your thighs, the shallowness of your breath and the thumping of your heart. At the point you forget all those things that hold you back, you find yourself smiling and you can swear you can see the wings sprouting from your shoulder-blades. Len grinned as he ran.

As if he had five thousand miles to cover and he didn't mind.

**(A/N: I was really happy at the positive feedback on chapter one. I'm really thankful and I hope that all of you will stay with this story up to the very end. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up since my exams are near, but I will try my best to get it up as soon as possible. Because I know that there is a group of awesomely supportive readers eager to read it. =3 Thank you so much, everyone! I hope you will review this chapter too. -heart- **

**Glossary**

Miki – Just in case some of you aren't aware yet. Miki's one of the new Vocaloids to be released. She was released along with Hiyama Kiyoteru and Kaai Yuki on the 4th of December 2009.

_yakuza_ – Japanese mafia.

_Shinjuton_ – My sad attempts at combining the words Crypton, the company that created most of the Vocaloids, and _Shinjuku_, a city in Japan and a well-known _yakuza_ hangout.

_katana_ – A long sword used as a weapon by samurai.

_anime_ – Short form of 'animation'. Japanese animated shows.

_indoor shoes_ – In Japan, most schools require you to have a pair of shoes to wear in school and a pair to wear outside. The indoor shoes are kept in small lockers and it's mandatory to change into indoor shoes before entering the school any further. This is done mostly to maintain cleanliness and to prevent mud and rain from outside from dirtying the floors**.**

_sakura_ – Japanese cherry blossoms. They usually bloom during the months of March and April.

_five thousand metres_ – A reference to the song 'Shissou' (Running) by Last Alliance. The opening lyrics are '_gozen mairu hashite_' which roughly means 'I'm running five hundred miles'.

**Thanks for reading and remember: review, fave, alert. =D)**


	3. Life is Fateful

**Title: Masquerade**

**Chapter 3: Life is Fateful**

"C'mon, Len! You're backing out _now_? After all the training we went through?"

"We… only played three games this year, Gumi-san," Len retorted, raising a blonde eyebrow. The green-haired girl was not pleased _at all_ with his reasoning and her frown deepened, glaring eyes looking him up and down with her arms crossed authoritatively. The lopsided cap she wore over her goggles threatened to topple over when she tilted her head, as if considering the male's request. Aforementioned male tried his best not to roll his eyes at her grande show and held his tongue. After about three minutes of fidgeting, the team leader _still_ hadn't deemed him worthy for a day off. While this endless shuffling of feet and chewing on cheek continued, Len was busy trying to reassure himself. _C'mon, Len… Just a little more… She looks convinced. It's not a big game! She's finally noticing i—_

"Denied." Crossing her arms to make a large 'X', she turned on her heel and began to walk off in the opposite direction, her short, green ponytail swishing from side to side like a proud horse's tail. Shocked, the blue-eyed boy just stood there, unable to move, feet rooted and gut anchored to the spot. Forcing himself out of his stupor, he pulled himself together, closed his gaping mouth and began to jog off after her, the whole while frantically trying to think of a good excuse, a reasonable excuse, _any excuse_.

"Gumi-san!" he called over just as he overtook her, skidding to a halt on the moist earth. He stood uncertainly in front of her path, arms held out, and very much intent on blocking her way until she agreed. _If_ she agreed, the pessimist in his mind pointed out; he brushed it aside impatiently. "Please! Just this once! Gumi-san, I'm on my knees here!" Glancing down at the muddy ground and his brown-stained sneakers, he added, "Figuratively."

"Len! 'No' is 'no', is it so hard to understand that?" the older of the two sighed exasperatedly. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket and rolled her eyes up to the sky. Len thought he saw a small white mist slip from her lips when she sighed; but when he blinked, it was gone. "This is our first match against those Higuchi school losers, we can't afford to lose any of our men now," she said, the whole time looking up at the white-grey sky and passing rainclouds.

"You won't lose me, Gumi-san," Len pressed with mutual exasperation, beyond desperate now. "I'm still here, I'm your batter but it's just that I won't—"

"Yes. 'You're _my_ batter'," she said, raising her index finger at him as if scolding a five-year-old child. Len looked beyond the finger and at her face; her eyebrows were knitted together and the eyes underneath had a sort of dangerous shine to it. She was getting angry. Len never saw Gumi angry before; she was usually more… smiley. "And for as long as you're batter and I'm team leader, I still have control over whatever you do that's linked to baseball, understood?"

"But Gumi-san!" he retorted. How was he going to explain this to Kaito-senpai?

"No 'but's! C'mon, Len, what exactly is so important that you have to cancel Saturday's game? It's impossible for anything _worth anything_ to suddenly pop up so last minute. What is this '_thing_' you _so desperately _have to attend to?" Oh, she can see the desperation now?

Len opened his mouth to give her a very good explanation, which she simply could not refuse and possibly, would have the potential to strike her with guilt if she didn't let him skive Saturday's game. But he hesitated. Problem was that: he didn't have a good explanation. Because the poor lad had only thought of two plans: Plan A was to tell her that his cat just died, but Gumi just told him this morning that _her_ cat died. She probably won't be buying any 'cat excuses' as of late. Wow, maybe that's why she's so PMS-y… Plan B was to tell her the truth, which – in many ways – would not end well. Why did he have to dress as Rin on Saturday in the first place? was the first question he could hear her asking and he cringed at the thought. No matter how close he was to his next-door neighbor-cum-baseball team leader, he simply _couldn't_ tell her why he was so intent on cross-dressing as his twin sister.

Because he had absolutely no idea why he was doing it himself.

Defeated, he hung his head and didn't say a word. He could feel her probing eyes lingering on his head, and all the disappointment and frustration bubbling in his gut, pressing against his ribcage. This whole insane ordeal was an emotional roller-coaster from Day 1, and Len was beginning to wonder, _why_ didn't he have a proper Plan B? Why had everything have to be decided from impulse?

Why did Kaito-senpai have to kiss him?

He saw Gumi's muddied sneakers move from where they were in front of him, out of his line of sight. The gradually fading sound of squelching mud was indication enough that the lime-haired girl didn't want to handle any more of his excuses. Len wished for something, _anything_ to happen that would cancel the game. He clenched his left hand into a fist out of habit; he did it so tightly that his nails began to dig red, crescent-shaped indents into his palm. The pain, however, wasn't enough to snap him back to reality and make him walk out of the ball-park. Instead, a million and one 'what-if's flashed through his mind and about two million bad ways to break it to Kaito zoomed past at an equally frightening speed. Right now, he felt he could only do nothing as the rest of the world felt so… _out of control_. He sighed and closed his eyes tight.

He felt something slap against the top of his head and blinked as it rolled off his hair, down the side of his cheek, to drip off his chin. It was followed by another slap and another and soon, the rain was pelting the top of his blonde head and filling up the footprint-puddles on the vast field. Many people began shouting at each other, a few squealed at the cold water and most of the students began to laugh and guffaw as they ran for shelter. What sounded like a hundred squishy footsteps drowned out the sound of the rain beating against his head. He heard Gumi-san yell at the freshmen to pick up the bats before they got soaked. A few of his schoolmates bumped into him and he heard someone yell at him to run into the main building. But he remained where he was, simply _lost_ of what to do.

Len tiredly glanced upwards at the grey sky and squinted his eyes when a raindrop landed on his eyebrow. The weatherman lied this morning… It was supposed to be a _perfect day_, he thought in disdain.

* * *

"Welcome back, welcome back! I hope you had a good trip! I saved some hot water for you!" Miku greeted him, pushing her smiling face up to his the moment he walked past the front door. Caught off-guard, Len took a few seconds to stare at her hopeful, glinting eyes and over-the-top smile before putting two and two together.

"What do you want, Miku?" Len murmured with a small grin as he pulled his feet out of his drenched sneakers. The rain had washed away most of the mud but his poor, white shoes were stained a light brown, which threatened to become permanent if he didn't do something soon. He groaned even more at his brown-stained socks and how spongy they felt against the floor.

"You mom told me to get the ingredients for tonight's dinner," he heard her continue as he kept his head bowed to the floor, fiddling with the bits of grass stuck to his socks.

"Mmm?" he nodded his head, tugging off his ruined socks, which slapped against the tiles and a large puddle of water seeped out onto the floor. He saw her feet shuffle about on the wooden panel above the now-wet tiles.

"And Rin's somewhat lonely…" she proceeded, starting to swing her left leg around.

"Un?"

"And I don't know what you usually put in a _nabe_…" Miku sounded somewhat embarrassed as she said this.

"Go on," the male was having fun bullying her.

"Could you?" Len was so tempted to ask her 'could I what?' but decided she had been tortured enough.

"Sure."

"Really?" Miku said in disbelief.

"Yeah, you keep Rin company," Len said, grinning up at her, holding up his drenched footwear. "After I clean myself up, I'll go get the stuff. Mom left the money on the table, right?" _Also… I need a bit of alone-time to clear my head_.

"Yeah…" she was still somewhat stunned by how nice he was being. But her smile quickly jumped back to life and she reached out her arms to hug him. But, seeing how wet he was, she lowered them, having reconsidered. "Thank you, Len! You're a lifesaver!" she cheered, punching her arm up into the air in an exaggerated victory-cheer. "I'll give you that hug when you're less… wet."

"Looking forward to it," he joked, stepping onto the wooden floor and heading up the stairs, his footsteps audibly – and wet-ly – slapping against the floor the entire time.

* * *

Len let his mind wander as he stood in the crowded supermarket line, a basket of groceries and junk food hanging from his right hand. It was so heavy that the slim plastic handle began to dig painfully into his palm. Cursing his luck, he could only hold on as he waited for his turn. The floor was streaked with moisture and grey dirt from outside. The thick scent of a rainy day remained clear in the air that slipped past the glass doors. The blonde was the only boy in line. Front and back, elderly women and the occasional baby flanked both ends. A strained sigh left his lips and he shuffled his feet. His shoes squeaked noisily against the wet floor.

Finally, it was his turn. With a relieved groan, the teen heaved the bright green basket onto the metal counter. The shop assistant smiled and scanned the groceries as well as the twenty stalks of leeks Miku told him to buy when he was about to leave the house.

"Would that be all?" the cashier asked in a cool voice and Len returned her smile half-heartedly.

"Yeah."

* * *

As he heaved the shopping bags along the crowded streets of the town, his ears were filled with car honks, the sound of shoes against wet pavement and pieces of conversation of people heading home. The casual exchanges soothed him somewhat and he felt himself calm down a little. He felt a lot cooler than he was during baseball practice and slowly began to wonder why he had stood in the rain all alone like that. Surely, he looked like an idiot! Shaking off the slight embarrassment, he bit on his lower lip. So wrapped up in his thoughts, Len didn't realise the end of a large stick coming right at him until he felt the back of his elbow suddenly colliding with it. A tingling shockwave ran down to his hand and up his arm from a direct hit to his funny bone and the plastic bag that he was holding fell from his grasp. Cursing his luck, he watched in horror as the packets of tofu belly-flopped onto the wet pavement, strewn across the concrete along with the other things that were in the bag. He immediately got onto his knees and began to salvage what he could.

"I'm so sorry, let me help," he heard the person that had bumped into him apologise. Out of the corner of his eye, Len saw the 'someone' get on his knees as well. The blonde was somewhat grateful yet still a bit agitated at the same time and kept his eyes trained on his part of the sidewalk, keen on getting all the stuff in the bag and going home. Once most of the fallen groceries were back in the bag, Len was grateful that a large number of them were wrapped in plastic. He sighed in relief before realising that it had stopped raining.

"Here," the last item, a box of Pocky, was handed to him and Len glanced at it for a second before nodding politely and accepting it. He paused, hand barely holding onto the box when he spotted the blue nailpolish on that hand that offered it to him.

He looked up in shock and heard the box fall with a soft clatter. "Shion… senpai…"

**(A/N: Hello, my darlings! I know it's been awhile since my last update, and I'm so sorry. But you all would be happy to know that the exams are over. lol. It took me awhile to write this, I apologise for that, but watching anime did somehow help. I'm not really sure how, though. =.=; Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and lotsa lurves to you all, my readers. You all are my greatest inspiration. –heart-**

**Glossary**

'The weatherman lied' – Another reference to Melt. I just love this song. =)

Tiled floor and wooden floor at the entrance – In Japanese homes, it is necessary to remove one's shoes before entering and usually, at the front door of a Japanese home, there is a small square of floor which is tiled where the shoe-rack is. Near that tiled floor, the rest of the house is raised about an inch or two in relation to the tiled floor and usually, the raised floor is wooden. This is for cleanliness. Also, since the wooden-floor bit is raised, a person going out can always sit on the wooden part while they put on their shoes. I hope that makes sense.

_nabe_ – Japanese hotpot. It's when you put a pot in the middle of a table and (depending on what kind of _nabe_ you're doing) it is heated either electrically or by a small, controlled flame (usually some sort of petroleum jelly). A broth is poured in and an array of vegetables, meat, seafood and tofu is put in. The selection is usually depending on the type of broth and what the group eating said _nabe_ likes.

Pocky – I'm sure most of you know what this is. A pocky is basically a famous Japanese snack which is a slim biscuit-stick with about one-fifth of it covered in some sort of hardened, flavoured cream. The most common Pocky is the chocolate Pocky.

Nail polish – Most of you should know this but, as odd as this sounds, Vocaloids seem to colour their nails depending on their colour theme, which is usually their hair colour as well. The only Vocaloid that doesn't seem to colour their nails according to their hair colour is Luka, who has pink hair but light blue nail polish. Not so sure why this is so but her eyes are light blue, so yeah...

**Thank you so much for reading and remember: review, fave and alert. –heart-)**


	4. Spinning, Spinning

**Title: Masquerade  
****Chapter 4: Spinning, Spinning...**

"Welcome ba— Len! What happened?" Miku's cheerful greeting was abruptly cut-off, her turquoise eyes widening in shock at her classmate's state. "Did you get robbed? Did you see something weird on the way back? Len? _Len_? Hello?"

Len barely heard anything over the sound of his own heartbeat, that erratic and sporadic pounding sending powerful surges of adrenaline gushing throughout his body. However, he didn't seem to fully register the amount of energy that was potentially damaging his nerve-endings, simply remaining slump against the door, a dazed look on his face. A thin layer of sweat – made icy cold by the chilly spring evening – caused his shirt to cling against his back like a second skin. His jittering hand made the groceries vibrate wildly in the paper bag, a mini-earthquake occurring amongst leek towers and tofu houses. Speaking of his hand, it was also starting to hurt from how his nails were digging into his palms. Absentmindedly, he loosened his grip, only to miscalculate and send the entire bag to the floor, the contents rolling across the ground for the second time that day. The sensible part of him – oppressed as it was – was thankful that the vegetables were wrapped in plastic. The not-so sensible part of him was still running bizarre ideas of how the 'escape from Kaito' plan should have followed through. The rest of his mind was still in a state of shock, frozen solid, as if his senpai's hand had sent a wave of numbing ice through his senses, which he could've sworn he did.

Wait, why were Miku's lips still moving?

"…think he's got your bug, Rin… seen a ghost… leek ice-cream…" As if he was turning the knob of a particularly old radio, sensible words would fade in and out, alternating between coherent sentences and white noise. In this case, the white noise was his own thoughts, which he deemed incoherent and nonsensical enough to be considered 'white noise'. Just like when Kaito-senpai kissed him, his mind was now frantically trying to pinpoint the cause of the irregularity in his system, sending messages to and fro, across nerve-ending highways, through seas of grey matter, deep into the empty voids of his memories, swaying, spiralling, spinning, round and _round_ and **round**…

"Are you overworked, Len? I think you are because I've seen..." This was a slight improvement, at least he heard the beginning of her sentence before it all started to blur out into noise again. Wait... didn't that happen _every_ time Miku talked? A small smile came to his lips, the boy helplessly amused at his own mental joke. This only caused his friend's expression to change to that of pure worry, the girl hastily glancing over her shoulder and down the hallway, as if contending whether or not she should stay or to rush off and find his mother. In Len's honest opinion, he didn't care, he was just amazed that he was even able to gauge what she was thinking, with the lights in the hallway suddenly going so dark. Hmm, he mused, was there a problem with the power wires again? Or did each and every one of the lightbulbs get a dimmer installed? Oh, Miku's hands were frantically waving... the more she shook them, the blurrier they got, and the blurrier they got, the lights went darker.

"Heh, that's a neat trick," he mumble-slurred, the goofy smile cemented to his face.

Len was so awe-struck by Miku's newfound powers, he didn't even realise it when his forehead made loud contact with the floor...

... having lost _proper_ _consciousness_ ages ago.

* * *

_I'm hungry_...

As unsophisticated as it sounded, that was his fleeting thought when he opened his eyes for the first time that day. He immediately regretted it, wincing at the unbearably bright sunlight filtering past his curta—Wait, what? Sunlight?

You know that horrible feeling you get when you sit up too abruptly right after you wake up? It feels as if you're ripping rows upon rows of delicately-stitched thread, each and every fibre eager on holding you down to your blankets for that 'little while' longer. Usually when one wakes up, you'd either hit the snooze button or stare blankly at your ceiling, letting the strings gradually loosen on their own, uncoiling and unthreading themselves from your pyjamas and the mattress. Within five minutes, you're ready to properly wake up and stretch, fully rested and a wonderful, brand new day ahead of you. Imagine that, and imagine the _complete opposite_ of it. Yeah, that's what it feels like when you just tear yourself away: grumpy, achy and with a very noticeable grimace on your face.

Eyelids heavy and throbbing, Len pressed the balls of his hands onto his eyesockets, gently trying to massage the pounding ache out of them, the whole while straining to ignore the ringing headache that had formed at his temples. It was never fun to wake up on the wrong side of the bed. It was even worse waking up on the wrong side of the bed when you're hungry. The only thing that could add to the mounting pile of 'worse'ness would be...

"Kagamine Len!"

... having your baseball coach appear in your bedroom unannounced. _Perfect_, why did he even bother? Murphy's Law loves him, he should've realised that by now.

"I just heard from Miku that you _died_ on your doorstep yesterday," he didn't want to remove his palms and open his eyes; he knew perfectly well who it was sauntering into his room, hands on her hips and brows furrowed in disapproval. "Let me get this straight: first, my best pitcher has a fever, and now her twin brother, my batter, goes absolutely **bananas **and faints on the front porch?" the rising inflictions of her voice built up to a shrill crescendo, every bit of disbelief, exasperation and anger being released through her tone alone. Len was all too familiar with how Gumi handled stress, and so he remained silent as he waited for the storm to pass, his hands never leaving his eyes. In the deep darkness behind his eyelids, he could feel his other senses heightening; he was now aware of how his bed dipped lower and how much closer his coach's sigh sounded. The low hum of the lawn-mower outside – probably his neighbour's – drifted through his window along with the scent of freshly-cut grass. Gumi relished in it and Len wrinkled his nose.

"What am I going to do with the two of you?" was the soft question. Whether it was rhetoric or not, Len couldn't – or didn't want to – tell, so he kept quiet, head hunched over his cupped hands. She took this as a sign to continue. "Rin's recovering, but the weather hasn't been too great. It's too much of a risk, she might fall sick again... and you're... I don't know about you. You seemed pretty fine yesterday... in the afternoon."

"Sorry," he mumbled weakly.

"Ah, don't say that, I'm not blaming you or anything," she quickly reassured. "I'm just... lost is all." Her voice sounded somewhat airy and faraway as she uttered the last sentence. In the darkness of his closed eyes, Len could picture her bright green eyes glazed-over and gazing out his window, her expression radiating mild reminiscence as she mulled over her thoughts and problems. He found it admirable how Gumi always stopped herself at the right time, to stare at the clouds. It was as if by some divine power, she would be able to receive the right answers to all of her complications through merely looking at the sky. More often than he would like to admit, she usually did, which stemmed a lifelong, undying respect for his childhood friend. Her ability to throw herself out of reality, not to escape, but to find solutions, and call herself back was what he found extremely fascinating in all the years she had been his friend.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, those Higuchi losers cancelled tomorrow's game, so you're off to do whatever you want, I guess," she sounded so crestfallen, Len felt guilty for inwardly rejoicing at the news. "Something about a cat dying... or something..." Gumi snorted, then scoffed, and then sighed. There was the sound of her hand patting against his bedsheets, relieving her system of the slight tension building up in her gut. "Well, I'm off, banana-head," that hand was quick to recover, diving into his messy fringe, rubbing and ruffling at it as if he was a small puppy. There was a mirthful laugh – or what had been attempted as a mirthful laugh – and the warmth disappeared, leaving his hair a complete mop and his scalp aching a little. Len didn't seem to mind too much. "I'm late for school. I guess you're playing hookie just like that sister of yours?" she laughed at her own joke, and Len couldn't help but smile at her optimism.

"Yeah, well, now you know _she's_ the bad one," the blonde commented, earning another laugh. The additional dip in his mattress disappeared and the sound of her padding footsteps told him she was about to leave. "Thanks for stopping by, Gumi," he called out.

"Was the least I could do, banana-head."

The soft hush of water gushing from his neighbour's hose brought his attention away from his thoughts, causing him to lower the hands from his face and open his eyes. His lids ached and his throat was dry, but he pushed all of that to the back of his head, listening to Hiyama-san spray cold water on her beloved flowers. The pitter-patter of the concrete as it caught the water was soothing to him and Len leant back on his headboard, the sheets shuffling as he did. The tiny rustle of something under his pillow was as distinct as a windchime in the breeze, catching his attention almost instantly. He hesitated for a moment, before a hand tenderly reached behind his back, working its way around for that little bit of paper. Silently, he pulled it out, smoothing out a crushed corner as he stared at the words in the middle. They resounded through him as strongly as they did the first time he read them:

'_Saturday. 4:30pm. Vita Shopping District? – Kaito._'

It was just two days ago that he found it, but it felt like an unbearably long time. After all, so much had happened from then till now, it couldn't have possibly been less than three days.

It just couldn't.

**(A/N: Yeah, it's been a long time. A **_**very**_** long time. I apologise a million for my absence, I was hit with a serious case of writer's block and I just couldn't write without going all crazy critical and scrapping it. I'm sure a lot of you have been waiting for Masquerade to be updated, it's one of my most-reviewed stories. –only shows how many people are interested to see Len in a dress. Ohohoho notty readers- Heh, I jokes! I love all of you and I'm really grateful if some of my old readers are here right now. You deserve a million cookies, you awesome person you! ;D**

**Glossary**

Hiyama-san – I know, I know, Hiyama is a guy, but I made him and his wife Len's neighbours, just 'cause I thought it was cute. So yeah, that's his wife in the garden. Newly-wed couple all cheery-cheery next door. Teehee.

Spinning, Spinning... – Ah, this is a small hint of what's about to happen in the next few chapters. -sigh- There are so many Vocaloid songs with the 'spinning' theme, no? xD

**There's not much to 'glossary' about in this chapter. This was just a sort of filler between what happened in the last chapter and what's about to happen. Oh? What's about to happen? Well, you'll have to wait and see. ;)**

**Remember to review –heart-)**


	5. Rolling

**Title: Masquerade  
****Chapter 5: Rolling -**

"See you, Kagamine-san, glad to have you back," was the cheerful greeting that chimed across the classroom. It was almost indistinguishable from the energetic after-school chatter and the rustling of books and notepaper being flung and crumpled into schoolbags. The scrapings of chairs against the floor as they were roughly shoved into their tables caused most of the girls to wince, while the boys doubled over in immature laughter. Upon hearing her name, the small blonde at the front of the class gave a small nod to class representative, before quickly diverting her eyes back to her desk, a grimace forming on her lips at the monstrous mass of worksheets, each with her name scribbled on in light pencil. Sick-days were fun and all, putting the 'sick' part aside, but no party can last forever without a reality check... Rin pouted as she recounted waking up at 10am, reading manga all day, drinking warm chicken soup, listening to Miku's rant of the day...

Speaking of which, where was the self-proclaimed diva? She had felt particularly distant today, she noted. Curiously, Rin twisted in her seat, quickly scanning the back of the classroom for a flash of green hair. She blinked.

None.

The leaving backs of many a classmate were beginning to stream out the doors, each and every one of them casting happy grins to their friends flanking their left and right, going on and on about what plans they had for the weekend. She was about to call out whether any of them had seen her pig-tailed friend, but the last one of them had stepped out, promptly sliding the door shut behind them.

'Did she leave already? So soon?' furrowing her eyebrow, Rin straightened herself in her seat, somewhat uneasy. Her hands busied themselves with the large pile of papers on her table, the sheets seeming to rattle loudly in the empty classroom. Letting the noises from the field outside the window blur out her thoughts and worries, she took out her favourite blue pen and began to attack the first exercise, eager to defeat the dreaded 'Post-Sick-Day-Homework Monster' as quickly as possible.

'What a way to begin my weekend…' she thought with a frown hours later, chewing on her pen's cap as she pondered on the value of _x_. 'Shame Len isn't here…' Drifting back to the night before, she frustratedly recounted how Miku had ran down the corridor, screaming at the top of her lungs "Kagamine-san! Kagamine-san!"

"Mou... What kind of brother gets sick right after his sister gets better?" her grip tightened on her pen.

"Maybe it's the twin-connection?"

"Maybe…" Rin casually nodded to the suggestion, not even realising she had said her last thought out loud. Snapping out of her daze, she immediately jumped out of her seat, hands bracing herself against the table defensively. Her blue eyes flashed the newcomer a questioning look before they softened, discovering that it was only Gumi who had appeared before her, a mirthful grin on her face and a metal baseball bat pressed against her shoulder. The lopsided cap with the team logo tethered on the bump of her ponytail, the team leader having most likely tugged it on in a rush. "Gumi," Rin smiled, flinging her arms forwards to latch onto her friend. "Heeeeeeelp meeeeee..." the groan was muffled as she buried her face into her shoulder dramatically.

"Yare yare... Rin, what have you gotten yourself into..." she said far too jovially, which was promptly rewarded with a playful smack on her forearm. She rubbed it tenderly as if it had hurt, the two of them sharing a moment of laughter. It resonated loudly in the empty classroom, as if they were hooked onto a microphone, causing the blonde to wince. She immediately fell silent but Gumi didn't seem to mind, maintaining her loudness just to hear the cave-like echoes. Rin shook her head exasperatedly at her senior. Sometimes, it was hard to tell who exactly was the older one here.

After the laughter died away, Gumi spoke up, her voice dry and raspy – from yelling at her baseball team, Rin assumed. "I saw Miku rush out suddenly when the bell rang," she began, glancing out the windows. Rin followed her gaze. The pale blue-and-orange sky spanned across the large glass panes like a washed-out painting. "So, I figured you didn't have someone to accompany you back home." There was a pause. "Since... y'know, I didn't see you come out with her."

"Thanks, I'd very much appreciate it," she replied with a smile. There was the snapping sound of her tapping the edge of the papers against the desk, straightening them haphazardly before sliding them into her bag. Gumi sat herself on a nearby table as she packed.

Suddenly, Rin's hands paused, her pencilbox hovering between the zippers of her bag.

"Gumi?" Gumi tilted her head to her side curiously as her name was called.

"Why are you wearing your baseball uniform when practices are cancelled?" she queried, suddenly noticing the irregularity.

"Hmm? You know I always wear it under my _seifuku_," she brushed off nonchalantly.

"Aa," Rin nodded.

Somehow, something didn't feel right... It didn't explain bringing the baseball bat, and it didn't explain her staying back at school so late. Regardless, the blonde continued clearing up, choosing not to ask any more questions. A haunting tightness clutched at her throat, however, not letting the unease slip out of her system. Self-doubt suggested that it was just the post-fever haze causing the confusion, but...

Somehow... something didn't feel right...

* * *

Soft sunlight spilled in from the kitchen windows, casting the almost invisible shadow of the sheer curtains onto the shining linoleum floor. A small gust of grass-scented wind wafted in, fluttering across the chopping board of cubed vegetables and bringing the fresh clear-cut smell to Hiyama-san's nose. Her hands paused in mid-stir, the warm handle of the ladle lightly grasped in her slender fingers. A lock of her long, brown hair fell from her loose ponytail and with her free hand, she turned the dial on the stove, flicking off the fire. There was something in the air, she concluded as she took hesitant steps towards the window. Her slippers brushed softly against the smooth floor and with a sideward glance to the pot of soup, she peered through the thin curtains curiously.

A thin form stood in the alleyway, leaning back against the white walls. Her long green hair made her look more like a vertical line painted on blank paper and her hunched-over head prevented her from seeing her face. She wore the same uniform of the school her husband taught at, she noted, spotting the badge on her shirt. There was a compelling urge to call out and say hello, but she held her tongue, slowly drawing her head away from the window. There was just... something that told her not to do anything.

Then, she saw it.

It was unfortunate that she didn't know the significance of what she had seen, simply brushing it off as another thing 'teenagers did these days'. Though there was something extremely suspicious of a young girl waiting in an alleyway all alone, the fact that she had managed to meet up with her friend regardless proved comforting enough. She needn't meddle in where people chose their meeting places and it seemed friendly enough.

After all, he did look like a nice boy, with his long purple hair neatly tied-up.

**(A/N: Ohohohoho... What is this? Plot twist? The result of being in the middle of finals? I don't know. Ohohohoho~**

**Glossary**

Mou – an expression of frustration. It's stretched out when said out loud, like 'mooouuuuu'.

Yare yare – expression of exasperation. Direct translation would be "oh my, oh my" but it's just so... _cheesy_ in English. (and... who says 'oh my, oh my'? seriously. xD)

_seifuku_ – sailor uniform, which is school uniform.

Aa – the translation is ambiguous, it depends on how you said it and when. It can either mean "I see... but I don't approve" or "Oh, okay..." in both approving and disapproving tones. In this chapter's context, Rin says it as "Okay, I understand" but inwardly thinking "I don't quite believe you". Of course, because of the multiple meanings, Gumi assumes it's just the former. =)

Rolling - - Incomplete song title is incomplete! You're the one reading Vocaloid fanfiction, you should know this. lolol =D

**I hope you guys find the glossary interesting/helpful and I'm not just talking to myself. xD**

**Remember to comment and review. I love hearing what you guys think. =)**

**I love you all! -heart-**

PS to Pandancer. Oh, I didn't know about Panda Hero. I just made Gumi baseball captain because I thought she'd be a really fun coach-person. Teehee. But thanks for the song suggestion, I'm listening to it right now. =D**)**


End file.
